I am currently 7 weeks pregnant and I go in for my first ob appt in the beginning of August. Background: I had a c-section with my daughter almost 2 years ago due to her presenting feet first. I went into labor the night before she was born and I thought it was just round ligament pain. I went into the hospital due to severe bleeding and was 5cm and 90% effaced. I had no clue I was even in labor! I was 35 weeks plus 3 days. She was 6 lbs. 2 oz. at birth and did not have to stay in the NICU. I didn't get to see her at all except for just before they took her to examine her, I got to give her a quick kiss and my DH took her picture. I didn't get to see her for over 2 hours while they tried to figure out why she was so ok , they thought maybe I was actually 37 weeks. It was annoying because I really couldn't relax, I just wanted to see her. She had a slight jaundice and breastfeeding was a nightmare. I hated that hospital.

That brings me to now. I really want to try for a VBAC. I want as much information as I can get. Any advice, stories, and articles will be much appreciated. I don't know how my ob feels about it but I am thinking about switching anyway for several reasons. Thank you in advance!

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Erin
Lucky to be Brian's wife
and mama to Nora (3 years) and Lucy (11 months)
Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.
~Mae West

I had a successful vbac with dd2. I hired a doula to help me keep a clear head and my desires known. I read up on it and knew the statisitcs and what could happen, etc. Be informed. My ob practice said they were on board, but I never truly believed them. And then I got the one doc who was adamantly against it and lectured me between contractions that I could kill my baby (nice, eh? And this was a woman). We persevered and succeeded! And recovery was so much easier.

There are other mamas on ds that can direct you to sources of information. All I can say is stay strong and stick to your guns. You know what's best. And you can do it.

You definitely need a supportive provider, so switch if you need to. It made all the difference for me. Also try to find a local ICAN chapter.

My c/s came after 5 hrs of pushing when I just couldn't get my little one (ended up a big one) to come out. I really think chiropractic care helped me this last time birth a similar sized baby with ease. Here is my story. :Hugs: Mama!

Contact ICAN (International C-Section Awareness Network). There is probably a local chapter near you and they provide invaluable help, advice, and resources for moms wanting to VBAC. They do have a website but I can't post links yet. Good luck!

The first thing you need to do is find a pro-VBAC doctor. Then you have some very long detailed discussions with your ob about your options, consequences, just in case scenarios, and potentials for disasters. I also highly highly highly recommend getting a doula as early on as you can. You can look up VBACs on Google too, you can never be too informed on the matter. Try to find out if your fist c section was a single or double suture closure, it matters to some doctors and they won't VBAC a single suture. Not something you want to figure out at the last minute when you go into labor and get an on call doctor that won't deliver for you.
Most importantly, know what you want and go for that goal but keep in mind it's a crap shoot. I went through an extraordinary amount of effort to have a successful VBAC and went into labor last Monday. I did not get my VBAC but also could not be happier with the entire experience. Ultimately my body is not meant for childbirth so I will take my 2 girls and cherish the fact that I was able to have 2 healthy children and we all survived.

Good luck with your VBAC, there are MANY successful ones here!

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Crazy semi-crunchy scientist mama to 1 DD almost 10 yrs old and DD 2 born July '11. CDing, extended vaxing, ERF, even been known to co-sleep (gasp!), and trying my best to baby wear a very persnickety diva.

Can someone please link or explain the reasons why it's dangerous to attempt VBAC (I understand you all are saying it's possible, but there are risks or it wouldn't be talked about so much....what are those risks is what I am asking ). My son was delivered via c-section due to me developing HELLP syndrome (an extreme complication of pre-eclampsia).

High up on the list is uterine rupture. I was on the brink of it when my labor stalled. When they cut me open my uterus had a 'window'. Basically a part where the uterus was stretched so thin that it would have torn open if I'd labored with it. With a rupture there is a huge risk of losing both baby and mamma. There are a variety of other risks but the rupture is the biggie.

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Crazy semi-crunchy scientist mama to 1 DD almost 10 yrs old and DD 2 born July '11. CDing, extended vaxing, ERF, even been known to co-sleep (gasp!), and trying my best to baby wear a very persnickety diva.

Uterine rupture is the biggest risk, but with careful planning and good care during labor, a rupture is unlikely. A uterus that is not being pushed to contract artificially will generally not work itself until it breaks; it's just not how the body works. The pp mentioned that her labor had stalled, and the window was found when the second c-section was performed. This makes sense- the stalled labor was her body's way of telling everyone that there was something wrong. For this reason, I believe that the safest way to attempt a Vbac is unaugmented and without epidural anesthesia. Since most hospitals have a "constant monitoring of Vbac" policy, there is a higher success rate with Hbacs than Vbacs in hospitals.
keep in mind that the risk of uterine rupture overall for the first Vbac is between .5 and 1.5%, and maybe even lower if labor is not induced or augmented. Even if there is a rupture, although they can be quite serious, most are partial ruptures that require another c-section, but do not harm the mother or the baby. And a c-section is really a (albeit somewhat controlled ) rupture of the uterus. Personally, I would take my chances with the Vbac, especially since c-sections are also far from risk- free. [/U]